


Still Standing

by a_geeks_dab



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Bittersweet Ending, Childhood, Coming of Age, Developing Friendships, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Sibling Bonding, Unresolved Romantic Tension, but i promise that there's a relatively happy ending, but more sweet than bitter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-17 11:36:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11850765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_geeks_dab/pseuds/a_geeks_dab
Summary: Lonan may have been expecting a lot of things in his life, but life doesn't always go to plan.





	1. Another Day of Sun

"Lonan! Lonan, wake up! C'mon, don't you know what day it is?"

I groan and rest my arm over my eyes, trying to block out the sunlight and go back to sleep. A few moments of silence pass before hands rest on my shoulders and begin shaking me relentlessly.

" _Lonan!_ Wake up, you big slacker!"

I yelp and my eyes snap open. I jolt upright in my hammock, frantically trying to find out what's going on, before my gaze lands on the person who interrupted my sleep--my little sister, Elina. She puts a fist on her hip and cocks it, staring at me with an accusatory glare.

"What do you want, Elina?" I grumble in the middle of a yawn, stretching and rubbing my eyes. "It's too early for this..."

She rolls her eyes, sighing. "Did you really forget?"

I stare blankly at her.

"Oh wow...really?" She groans exaggeratedly, face palming. "I think you'd forget that you could fly if you didn't have wings!"

"At least I don't try to play with a bow and arrows before you even start learning how to use them," I say, snickering. "You're lucky that Cayden kid found you before you could get yourself hurt. Really, though, why do I have to wake up so early again?"

"I was getting to that! I don't know what the ceremony-thingie is called, but today's the day when you get sorted into--"

"The Categorization Ceremony!" I interrupt, suddenly wide awake. "How did I forget _that?!_ "

Elina shakes her head in disbelief. "That's what I was thinking! It's in two hours, and you haven't even gotten up yet!"

I jump out of my hammock, nearly falling flat on my face. "I-I gotta get ready! Where's Mom?" I ask as I begin digging through the clothing hamper for something to wear. I know where Dad is; in the mornings, he always goes to the Flight Range to warm up for the day. Dad's super tough and strong--he's really good at beating people up. Mom tells me that he's never beaten anyone up, that he instead just fights monsters, but I like to think he teaches bad people a well-deserved lesson.

"She went down to that weird shrine-thing. I think it was to talk to Kass or something." She watches me, obviously finding my panic funny. Of course she does. I slept in on the most important day of my life, for Hylia's sake! I find my nice pair of pants and nearly throw them on my hammock.

"Okay, okay... Can you go see her? I kinda need to get ready, and I don't want a certain annoying sister that _wakes me up_  bothering me while I do it."

I hear her huff. " _Fine._ But you're gonna have to...give me your dessert at dinner! Deal?"

"Ugh, deal."

In the corner of my eye, I can see her skipping out of our hut happily, humming loudly. I shake my head and grin. While Elina can get... _exasperating_ sometimes, I have to say it: I really do love her. Though if anyone told her that, I'd have to chase after them with my lute.

Speaking of my lute...

I pull out my dressy shirt and carelessly put it next to the pants before glancing down at my most prized possession. I've been playing the lute for a year and a half now--I'm not too good at it. I always get the notes wrong and I always go too fast than I'm supposed to, but it's still fun. I guess that's why I still do it.

I smile down at it before I pull on my clothes. I know that the shirt messes up my head feathers, but I can always fix that later.

Oh, wait.

I almost forgot.

_I don't have time for "later"!_

I carefully strap my lute on my back before grabbing a comb, rushing it through my feathers until I'm satisfied. Normally I wouldn't really care how I look, but since today's the most important day of my life, I should at least look nice for it. Everything's gonna change after this. My days of laziness are over, starting today. And I'm sorta sad about that, but this is just one step closer to becoming a grown-up!

Of course, I realize only _now_ that I haven't taken a bath yet, _after_ I get dressed.

I groan and glance at the sun, and my heart sinks as I see that it's high in the sky. It's almost noon, now; the ceremony starts then. I don't have any time to bathe! Why didn't Elina wake me up earlier?!

I guess this'll have to do, then. I fish an apple out of the cupboard and shove it in my mouth, not even taking the time to really taste it before hopping out of the house. The sun warms me up, like it's giving me a big hug. I love days like this--nice, sunny days, where the sky is blue and perfect for flying. Not like I'm good at flying, but when I _do_ get good at it, I'm sure I'll be in the air all the time.

Weirdly enough, I'm not that scared. I mean, I'm nervous, but I'm not really afraid. Okay, so maybe it's a tiny bit scary that Mr. Fisher talked to Mom and Dad about what category I'm getting sorted into, but I'm sure it'll be okay.

I'm wanting to be sorted into the heavy category--that's the category that all the good warriors come from, all the fighters. Dad was in it, the super cool Champion Revali was in it...Even my warrior neighbor, Teba, was in it! I wanna be a warrior, just like them.

The ceremony's taking place at Revali's Landing, like it does every year. As I run down the stairs, I can already see a bunch of other Rito gathering around. Apparently I'm really late, since most of the other kids are there, and even Elder Kaneli got here faster than I did. I see Mom and Elina chatting idly with Kass as she walks over to the landing and I grin. Kass and Mom have been friends for the longest time, ever since I started taking voice lessons with him when I was really little. Even though I've stopped taking those lessons a long time ago, my family still is close friends with his family. It's nice, and I really like Kass.

I see Dad touching down on the landing and running over to Mom and Kass, clapping Kass on the shoulder, spinning Elina in a tight hug, and dipping Mom in a kiss. I resist the urge to throw up as I arrive and make my way over to them.

Mom, as always, is the first one to see me. As soon as she does, she wraps me in a bone-crushing hug and nearly suffocates me. "Today's the day, little one!" she says joyfully, letting me go. "Don't worry yourself, Lonan," she adds as she sees my pained expression. "You're such a good student, and I'm just..." She wipes her eye. "..I'm just so _proud_ of you!"

"Momma, please," I beg, glancing around and hoping none of the other kids are watching. I hear Elina snickering and I shoot her a glare before looking back at my parents. "I'm not worried at all!"

Dad laughs heartily and pats my head. "That's my boy! Never concerned about anything!" In a lower voice, he says, "Plus, we've got you covered, son. Like your mother said, there's no need to be afraid."

"Papa, I'm not scared!" I have to stop myself from stomping my foot to emphasise my point.

"Okay, okay. Don't get yourself riled up," he says, putting his hands up in a palpitating way. "I was just letting you know."

I nod at him, trying not to smile, but failing.

Kass glances up at the sky. "It's about that time," he murmurs, tapping his foot excitedly. "You better join up with the others now, Lonan. You wouldn't want to be known as the Rito who was late for the ceremony, now would you?"

"Oh, yeah! I probably should.." I take one step towards the group of kids before running back to hug my parents. Elina's snickers turning into full laughs.

"Good luck, big brother!" I hear her shout behind me as I run off towards the others.

I'm not really friends with a lot of the kids here--they're all my age, ten years old. Most of my friends are around nine, and though a lot of them are turning ten really soon, they'll still have to wait until next year to be categorized. I don't really understand it, but the grown-ups do, so I guess they know what's best.

The only person I recognize is...what's his name? Cayden, I think. The only person I recognize is Cayden, so I shuffle over to him and stand beside at his side. He notices me pretty quickly. He stares at me and tilts his head in confusion.

"Hi! You're Cayden, right?"

He nods, almost nervously, his hands behind his back. "L-Lonan. You're Elina's sister, yeah? The one who tried to play with arrows a few weeks ago?"

I rub the nape of my neck and laugh. "Yep! Elina's...really reckless sometimes. She got in a lot of trouble for that. She isn't supposed to start learning archery until next year, after all."

Cayden shifts a bit, silent.

I give him a sidelong glance. "You know, there's nothing to be scared of. I'm sure you'll be sorted in the category you want."

Cayden turns his head to stare at me. "Sorry for being so quiet, I'm..I'm not the best at conversations." He laughs shakily. "I tend to fly off into my own little world, as my grandpa says. And...I'm not scared of the sorting. I don't really care which category I'm in."

The sincerity in his voice startles me. "Come on, you gotta like one category over the other! This is a life decision, after all!"

When he doesn't answer, I take it as a sign to continue. "I mean, one of them is the super-cool warrior fighter category, then there's the...the musical one. It really depends on your interests." I'm really surprised he hasn't thought this through as much as I have. I thought everyone stressed over this!

He shrugs. "If I would have to choose..." He almost looks embarrassed as he continues. "I kinda want to be in the heavy category. Grandpa says that I'll have to toughen up if I want to be a warrior, but I still want to do it."

I grin at him. "I'm sure you'll get in! A bunch of...not so tough Rito get in the heavy category!"

Cayden blinks at me before returning my smile, though it's much smaller than mine. "...Yeah. Yeah, I guess so."

We stand in silence for a few minutes after that. Cayden seems comfortable, but for me, I just want to keep talking. I decide to keep quiet. If I ever want to become friends with Cayden, which I do, it's probably best to let him take things at his own pace.

Elder Kaneli's booming voice distracts me from my train of thought. "Good morning, everyone! I trust that you all had a good night's sleep and an early rise?"

I shuffle my feet and glance down at the ground as the others murmur and shout their answers.

"Excellent," Elder Kaneli says. "Now, it's time to begin the ceremony. I would like to thank everyone for coming today, and a huge thank-you to parents for taking the time to speak to Mr. Fisher..."

I zone out as Elder Kaneli drones on. Maybe I should be paying attention, but I've been over the procedure for the ceremony a billion times. I've heard from some of the big kids that Elder Kaneli's speech is for the parents, really.

One by one, kids begin getting called up to the elder. Some of them are trembling, some are way too confident for that. Two groups begin to form. It seems that the smaller, more timid ones are in the light category, while the aggressive ones are mostly in the heavy category.

"Cayden," Elder Kaneli says, and the small yellow Rito glances nervously at me.

I give him a thumps up. He smiles again and hops up to the elder, tapping his hand against his thigh anxiously.

Elder Kaneli smiles down at him before speaking. "Cayden, we acknowledge your sheer intelligence and determination in life. After speaking with your grandfather, we have decided that you currently have an unused potential that must be unlocked if you wish to become a warrior. You shall be in the heavy category."

Cayden's face breaks out in the first full-on grin I've seen from him as he nods gratefully. He walks over to where the heavy category kids are and shoots me another nervous smile, so I give him finger guns.

Soon enough, I'm the only one left. WHY I'm the last one is a bit confusing, but I decide to not think about it too much. If I wasn't scared before, I am now.

"Lonan, it is your turn."

I try my best to not shake as I make my way over to Elder Kaneli. My heart beats loudly in my chest as I stare up at the elder.

"You are a very talented young Rito. From what we have seen, you have a raw affinity with music and you know how to defend yourself brilliantly. You have a certain zest for life and an energetic drive, as your instructor has told me." He grins at me before continuing, and my fear dissipates. I know how to defend myself...yeah, I do! I picture Teba, Revali, and Dad in my mind as I imagine myself becoming like them, a warrior, trained in the heavy category. I'm going to become a warrior! I begin to bounce excitedly on the spot.

"Welcome to the light category, Lonan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It begins! This was so fun to work on, and I look forward to writing more of this! A huge shoutout to Evelina Online for making the category system!
> 
> Updates will NOT be consistent, but I'll update when I can. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!! I really appreciate it!!


	2. No Turning Back

What?

The... _light_ category?

But the light category is for _sissies_!

Well, no. Kass had been in the light category, and he was definitely not a sissy. He was really the opposite, big and strong, though he chose to become a minstrel instead of a fighter.

I try my best to hide my disappointment as I smile and nod up at Elder Kaneli. After being dismissed, I drag my feet over to the kids in the light category, glancing sadly back at Cayden and the heavy category kids. He tilts his head at me curiously.

I glance at my parents, who're all looking at me with super happy and proud expressions and remember that they knew which category I'd be sorted into. My heart sinks, and my eyes travel to Dad. I guess my face matches my feelings, because he looks almost guilty for a split-second before his usual stoic expression returns.

I glance at the others in my group, but I don't know any of them, so I let my gaze wander to the ground. It's frustrating; I'm a generally not-so-shy person, so it should be pretty easy to make friends, but my mood's taken a downward spiral. I don't get why Mom and Dad would want me to be in the light category. Maybe they thought I was too weak and small?

Yeah, that's probably it. But...how can they think that? Dad gives me lessons on how to defend myself, so why do they think I'm not strong enough? I have to admit, it kinda hurts.

I shuffle my feet and mope for a few minutes before I feel a light tap on my shoulder. My head snaps up and I turn my head to look at the source of the touch, curious. Standing behind me is a girl around my height with pretty blue eyes. She's wearing a soft green dress, probably for the ceremony, and has nice, rectangular glasses. Her feathers are mostly a brownish-greyish color, but she has blue feathers dotting her throat, too.

"Hiya!" she chirps cheerfully. "I saw that you seemed kinda lonely, so I decided to come over to say hello!"

Against my judgement, I perk up at her bubbly demeanor and her voice. It's really no wonder she was sorted into the light category; judging by her normal speaking voice, there's no doubt that her singing voice is great. I know that you can't really judge a person's singing voice by their talking voice, but I do it anyway, no matter if people think it's dumb. 

I grin at her and extend a hand. She takes it eagerly and shakes it before withdrawing. "Hi!" I say, matching her tone. "I'm Lonan. What's your name?"

The girl stares at me blankly for a few seconds. "OH!" she suddenly blurts out, facepalming. "I totally forgot to introduce myself, sorry! My name's Aria. Nice to meet ya!"

"You too!" I say enthusiastically. "Aria..." I pause, thinking. "That's a really pretty name!"

She giggles. "Everyone says that for some reason," she says, a broad smile on her face. She looks at the crowd of grown-ups, still grinning. "I was kinda nervous that they wouldn't put me in the light category. I don't really like fighting, and I enjoy more...introspective activities." Her voice grows more professional at her last sentence and she pushes her glasses up the bridge of her beak. I realize that she seems very smart.

She glances at me, raising an eyebrow. "So...judging by how sad you looked when you got sorted, this wasn't the category you wanted to be in, huh?"

How did she know that?

"Oh, uh, yeah. I wanted to be in the heavy category, where all the good warriors come from."

"I'm sure you can still become a warrior, if you want," she says. "Even though the light category focuses more on the arts, as you know, they still teach you basic combat. Personally, I kinda want to skip that part, but I can't go and live in the world until I know how to defend myself." She sighs and mutters to herself, "Although it's already too late for that."

I wanna ask her what she means, but before I can, Elder Kaneli dismisses us to our families. I inwardly groan.

She outwardly groans.

The crowd slowly disappears as families begin to leave. Some go back to their homes, some go flying, some go down to Rito Stable; the only place I don't see anyone head off to is the Flight Range. I wonder why.

Before I can continue wondering why, two grown-up Rito saunter over to us, lazy smiles on their faces. When they see us, they exchange an uneasy look to each other and quicken their pace until they're towering over us like how that big bird machine, Vah Metal, I think it's called, towers over Rito Village. Except, instead of protecting us like that big bird, they seem more scary. They ignore me and look at Aria instead.

"Aria," one of them says sweetly, "Who's this young man?"

It's like someone smacked the expression of Aria's face. She stares blankly back at the grown-ups silently, almost defiantly, before the other Rito pipes up.

"You haven't gotten yourself a boyfriend already, have you?" the second Rito says, laughing. His tone seems friendly enough, but seeing as Aria's' fists are clenched, she senses something off about him. Hm...why would she seem so... _scared_ of this guy? He's a Rito, like the rest of us.

Aria's blank tension suddenly shatters as she grins up at the two Rito, bouncing on her heels. "Father, that's no fair!" she whines, stomping her foot. "Just because I've met a new friend doesn't automatically mean I'm his girlfriend!" That's weird. Even her voice sounds different now. I can't put my finger on the what it is, but something's off.

Something's off about all of them. They're acting super nice and all, but...something just feels wrong.

"Of course not," the first Rito, probably Aria's mother, says. "We should be going now, sweetheart. I whipped up some spicy meat and seafood fry--your favorite!" She takes Aria's hand and begins to lead her away, her father following closely behind.

She almost tries to pull back from her mother's grasp, but as soon as she shoots Aria a gentle look, she seems to decide to go along with her parents, skipping.

Aria turns her head and waves back at me. "See ya tomorrow, Lonan!"

I hold up a hand and wave. "Bye," I say, quieter than normal.

I'm confused. Why is it that those big Rito are so scary to me, but they act so nice? What about them don't I like? What about them _should_ I not like?

I shrug the thoughts out of my head. I'm probably just being stupid and paranoid. I don't feel as bad as I did before, when I first got categorized. At least I'll be able to see Aria again; she's cool. Thinking about it, I'll be able to see Cayden, too. And everyone else in the village.

I try to make my way through the crowd of people to find my family. I see Cayden giving his grandpa a hug, and see a girl tackling who appears to be her dad.

I snicker to myself as I hear Elina shout my name.

I turn around to see her waving me over, Mom wiping away her tears and Dad grinning at me. Kass is nowhere to be found, but I'm not that shocked to see that; he has really little babies to take care of, after all.

As soon as I skip up to my family, Elina gives me a high-five; one of the high-fives that hurts your hand afterwards. I shake out my hand and shoot her a look before being swept-up into a hug by Mom...again. This time she's not crying though, so that automatically makes the hug a lot better.

"What was it like up there, Lonan?" Elina asks excitedly, flitting around me as soon as I escape Mom's surprise-hug. "Were you nervous? Who was that cute girl you were with? Oh! And why were you talking to Cayden? I didn't know you knew Cayden!"

"I _didn't_ know Cayden," I say, trying to keep up with her quick movement and deciding to discard her comment about Aria. "I only just really met him today. And no, I wasn't scared at all!" I puff out my chest proudly, patting her on the head.

"You're lying!" Elina giggles. "I saw your face! You were gonna _cry_ if you stayed up there too long!"

I scoff and roll my eyes. "Yeah right! You'd be more scared than I was if you were there!"

"Remember that in a year, because I will prov-"

"Now, now," Dad says in a calming voice. "Let's not fight this early in the day, okay?" He puts his hands on our shoulders and begins to steer us through the crowd, which is quickly getting smaller.

"Fine..." I lower my voice to a whisper. "But just saying, Elina started it."

"Stop lying, you stinker!"

_"What did I just say?"_

"Sorry, Dad," we reply in unison.

He laughs and lets go of us as soon as we get to the stairs leading up to our hut. Elina bounds up the staircase, probably to play a prank or something. Who knows when it comes to her. She's absolutely crazy, after all.

Part of me wants to run after her, but my I decide not to. If I did, I'd get in trouble along with her for whatever she's doing. But that doesn't stop me from hopping up the stairs faster than normal. 

I can hear Dad chuckle behind me and Mom says something to him, but I can't make out what she says, and I really don't care at the moment. There's literally no reason to eavesdrop right now, even though I'm kinda curious. I hurry up the stairs, making sure not to trip over my own feet.

When I get home, I see Elina curled up in her hammock. She looks like she's asleep, but knowing her, she's just pretending. Mom and Dad got stopped by Kass and his little family to talk, so I went on ahead to the hut to relax. It looks like Elina beat me to the punch.

I creep over to her, craning my neck. She's laying on her side, her body in a tight ball. I give her a soft poke. "Elina?"

She doesn't answer, and she doesn't smile either. She really _is_ asleep, then. She's not one to take naps all the time, but I guess getting up so early made her tired. That's what I'm thinking, anyway. Why else would she take a nap, especially when she's always rambling about how sleeping just takes time away from life?

I pat her head before grabbing my lute and jumping into my own hammock, swinging my legs over the edge. I heave the lute onto my lap, grunting. It's huge compared to me; it's almost as big as I am! And sure, I'm a little small for my age, but this thing is HUGE.

I begin to strum the strings, in no real pattern. I just like the sound of the notes, really.

Soon enough, even though I don't even mean to, I'm playing the same medley over and over again. I don't really notice it until I remember listening to Mom humming it to herself. I smile as I play it. I keep missing notes, but at least I have the tempo right.

I don't remember when Mom and Dad get home, but I do remember Elina waking up. I don't really remember her excuse since it was so bad, but I do remember singing loudly with her during dinner. I think we broke Dad's eardrums. As for Mom, well...she was out selling some stuff to Fyson's mom.

Before long, we're all curled up in our hammocks. I'm the last one awake, but you can't blame me for that. I'm too excited to sleep; after all, tomorrow's my first day of training in the light category! And even though I was kinda disappointed at first, at least Aria's gonna be there! She seems nice.

I stare up at the inky sky. Tonight is the full moon, and the night's clear. The stars smile down, and the moonlight shines on my face.

That's how I fall asleep; blankets curled and tangled around me, with only the top of my head and eyes showing.

It's a good night.

***

"LONAN! Lonan, wake up!"

Unlike yesterday, I wake up instantly, sitting up in my hammock. I stare at Elina and do my best "angry big brother" glare, but it doesn't really work. Not with her, anyhow.

"What do you want now?!" I say, folding my arms.

She facepalms. "Ugh, big brother, did you forget...again?! Today's the first day of-"

I slap a hand to my cheek. "School! Light category!" I jump out of bed, almost tripping over my talons. "Elina, what time is it?!"

She lazily looks at the position of the sun before turning back to me. "7:30." She yawns, rubbing her eyes. "There, I saved your life. Can I go back to sleep now? And you owe me dessert again."

I nod. "Er, sure. Thanks." I pause before realizing her last sentence. "Except for the dessert part. You are _not_ getting it tonight." She waves me off and clambers back into her hammock, pulling her blanket over her head and becoming still.

I glance around and see Mom still asleep, and Dad gone, as usual. One of these days, I wanna go with him to the Flight Range, but Mom says I'm too young and it's always too early in the morning. I'm glad Elina woke me up half and hour before I have to leave, though; yesterday she barely gave me fifteen minutes.

Still don't have time for a bath, though. I decide to take it when I come home.

I'm walking out of the house when I hear Elina shout sleepily. "Don't forget your lute, Lonan! You're gonna need it..Good luck!" I say thanks to her again, running back and picking up the lute and strapping it on my back. The instrument makes it hard to walk, since it's so darn big, but I manage to walk over to Elina's hammock to pat her head again before leaving.

The morning passes in a weird, crazy blur. Everyone in the class has some sort of instrument; I have my lute, Aria has a violin, a boy has a guitar, and so on. We basically go over the rules and stuff, and that's pretty boring, so during the last hour of class, they let us play our instruments and give us advice on how to get better.

I'm, by far, the worst one there, but the teacher, Miss Cardin, doesn't really mind. Actually, she seems super happy at my horrible attempts at playing the lute. For some reason.

"You really do have potential, Lonan," she says. "With some practice, you could create beautiful music."

I don't really believe that, but I go along with her lesson. She shows me better ways to hold it, and how to make that pretty ringing sound whenever I strum a note. I'm honestly having fun, I realize. I wonder how much fun Cayden is having in the heavy category class. Probably a lot, with archery and learning how to fight and he's probably having a blast-

I decide to stop thinking about the heavy category and what might've been.

Soon enough, it's over for the day, and just in time for lunch. Mom had left me a bag with a tuna sandwich and an apple, so I decide to eat at Revali's Landing. I've always really liked that place.

I trot over to the edge of the landing, plopping down and swinging my legs over the empty space below. I take my sandwich and take a bit out of it when I hear someone calling my name.

I turn my head to look for the source of the noise and see Aria and...Cayden?

"Can we sit with you?" Aria asks, bouncing on her heels. "I..don't really feel like having lunch with my parents, and though I've only known you since yesterday, you seem much more fun than them."

A grin returns to my face. "Yeah!" I pat the area next to me as a gesture for them to come over.

Aria smiles and leads Cayden by the hand over to the spot. Cayden gives me a polite nod before pulling out a banana, while Aria begins to talk animatedly while hungrily eating spicy meat and seafood fry. I guess she had leftovers from her dinner last night.

"I didn't know you knew Cayden," I say, munching into my sandwich again.

She scoffs. "I know _everyone,_ " she replies. "Well, at least now I do, since I met you yesterday." Cayden nods beside me, quiet as ever.

"Huh. You know my little sister, too?"

"Of course! She's adorable! Her name's Elina, right?"

I hum, nodding. I turn to Cayden, smiling. "What about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

He shakes his head. "No," he says bluntly. "The only family I have is my grandpa. But I love him, and to be honest, I'd rather have him than a brother or a sister." He goes back to eating before continuing. "Not to say that I don't like your sister, Lonan; she's actually pretty cool, for someone who tries to pick up a bow and arrows before they're ready."

I snigger. "Yeah, she's...she's something, alright. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing depends on the weather."

We pass the hour like that; just talking about nothing but everything, from classes to what we're having for dinner. Cayden slowly begins speaking without being spoken to, and it's one of the best feelings I've felt all day. He might actually think of me as a friend! With Aria, she seemed to want to be friends from the start, but Cayden felt more distant when I met him yesterday.

Soon enough, I'm getting up from my perch, brushing myself off and helping Aria to her feet. I turn to help Cayden too, but he's already up, stretching and yawning. "I think I'm gonna go for a fly," he says. Not too far, just around the village. Gramps never lets me farther than Rito Stable."

He walks to the edge of Revali's Landing before looking back at us, tilting his head. "Do...do you two wanna come with me? It might be fun."

Aria nods immediately, grinning and hopping over to him. "Yeah! I love flying! Especially with friends! You coming, Lonan?"

I shuffle my feet and look down at the ground. I wanna go with them, I really do, but...I'm not too good at flying. At all. What if I fall and crash and die? I don't wanna die, I'm too young! Well, actually, I'd probably just fall into Lake Totori, but even then, it'd hurt.

Mom and Dad always do tell me to face my fears. No one's crashed in the past year, and if I am bad at flying, I can just come back to Revali's Landing. Yeah. That's a good idea. Hopefully.

I shakily make my way over to them and feel myself trembling as I stare down. I'm not scared of heights; actually, I'm scared of falling to my death.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I look up, expecting to see Aria, but instead see Cayden smiling at me. "It's gonna be okay," he says. "You don't have to come with us if you don't wanna. But if you do, we'll make sure you're safe. Right, Aria?"

"Right!" Aria chirps.

My own smile broadens as I look between them. "I'm going," I assure them. "I'm just...a little nervous, that's it. I'll be okay once we get in the air, I think."

He nods and takes off, zooming into the sky. Aria follows him, slightly more gracefully, and the two flip and circle around each other. I hear Aria laughing loudly, but even though I can see Cayden's beak in a grin, no noise seems to be coming out.

I reluctantly jump off Revali's Landing and dive.

The wind whistles through my eardrums and my heart begins thumping loudly until it's the only thing I can hear. The waters of Lake Totori are coming up really quickly, oh no, this was a bad idea, I'm gonna di-

My wings spread out at the last second, and I feel the air rush under them as I'm shot upwards a little. I hover in the air, flapping my wings almost frantically, but I'm laughing and I'm happy and I faced my fear, just like Mom and Dad told me to!

"Lonan, we're up here!" Aria's voice rings out. Cayden and her are flitting around, staring down at me. "You okay?"

"Yup!" I shout back. I pump my wings and soar up to them, and it what seems like no time, we're bouncing around in the clouds, laughing and giggling and shouting. I think we scare some of the grown-ups down in the village, but I don't really care.

Who would care when they're having the time of their life, anyway?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and all of your lovely comments so far!!
> 
> (um sorry but I really love the trio's friendship help)


	3. Five Bells

We go at it for hours, until we see the sun beginning to set over the horizon. During that time, Cayden slowly becomes more relaxed around me, though he still seems a little nervous. Aria, on the other hand, acts perfectly comfortable.

When we finally decide to go back to Revali's Landing, the stars are beginning to twinkle in the sky. Aria's the last one to land, dragging her feet.

"This..this was really fun, you two," she says. "We should play again soon!"

"How about tomorrow?" I ask. "Maybe after school?" I hop from foot to foot excitedly at the idea. Cayden smiles a little and nods in agreement.

"Gramps won't mind," he replies, shrugging. "I don't have anything I've gotta do until...a few days from now. So that's good for me, too."

The two Rito glance back at Aria, who has a face-splitting grin on her face. "Great! I'll be counting down the seconds." She laughs. "No offense to my parents, but...it's more fun to talk to you two than them most of the time."

I feel a warm feeling in my tummy, but I don't really pay any attention to it. "But...where should we go? I think we explored every nook and cranny of the village today..." My voice trails off. It was true; we peeked into houses, searched under hammocks, and even flew to the top to the village as a dare. Was there even anywhere else to find new things?

"The Flight Range," Cayden mutters, his eyebrows drawing down. "I've been to the Flight Range, but I've never really checked out everything there. Maybe we could go?" He rubs the back of his neck, blinking nervously at us for some reason. Well, actually, I think he's just nervous about me, since he's friends with Aria, but...doesn't he know that he doesn't have to be scared of me by now?

Aria grins. "That sounds awesome! I've never gone to the Flight Range before!" She turns around to blink at me in a silent question. "And...what about you, Lonan? Are you coming with us?"

Without even thinking about it, I nod. "Yeah! So, after school? After we eat lunch?"

The other two shout in agreement; well, Aria does, anyway. Cayden just smiles his little smile and bounces up and down. It's kinda...what's the word...? Mom calls me it all the time...oh! Endearing! It's kinda endearing! Knowing big words like that makes me feel pretty proud, since my family calls them 'grown-up' words, and that means I'm just one step closer to growing up. I'm kinda glad Elina is younger than me, because if she were bigger, she's probably flaunt her smartness around me.

Wait...ELINA!

What am I gonna do about Elina?! She'll want to come along, but she'll just drag us down! She's so small and doesn't even know how to fly yet!

Unless...I don't tell her. But if I don't tell her, I can't tell Mom, either, because if I tell Mom, she'll tell me to take Elina. I could always say that we were just doing what we did today....yeah, that'd work. Problem solved. Hopefully.

"Cool," Cayden says in response to something Aria was saying. "So, we'll see you tomorrow, then?" He takes a step in the direction of where his house is, before glancing back at us.

"Yep!" Aria chirps, waving and hopping away to her own hut. "See ya tomorrow!"

I wave and say goodbye before beginning the short walk upstairs to my house. The second I walk in, I yawn loudly and the day finally wears on me. I'm actually tired for once as I jump into my hammock, securing my blanket around me and closing my eyes.

I think I can hear Elina sniggering, but I'm not too sure.

***

I don't really pay that much attention in class the next day, except for when Miss Cardin helps us with our instruments. As usual, I sound kinda terrible, but that's only because I didn't practice the night before since I was playing with Aria and Cayden. I promise her I'll do it today and make a mental note to bring my lute to the Flight Range.

Apparently not paying attention makes time go super quickly, because in what seems like no time, class is over and the sun is high in the sky, telling the world it's noon. I waste no time in running to my house and snagging a bag of food.

I remember my promise to Miss Cardin at the last second and I turn around, groaning. How the heck I am supposed to fly with that huge thing on my back?!

But, I DID promise. And I never, ever break my promises.

So I march back into the house and grunt as I strap the lute on my back, since that's the only way it'll be able to fit on me. Like I said, the things huge; or I'm just really small. Either way, it's annoying .

Once the lute's secure, I begin to walk out, but slower than I came in. It's nearly impossible to stumble down the stairs with this thing on, so I don't really know how I'm gonna fly with it, but I might as well try. Dad always tells me, "don't give up before you even try." I won't give up on this adventure just yet, then!

I manage to get to Revali's Landing, sighing in relief as I sit down on the edge of the platform. I take out a meat skewer that Mom made for me--it's nice that she knows me so well--and take a bite, wiggling in delight from the flavor.

"Hey, Lonan!"

I look around to see who it is mid-bite, and grin when I see it's Cayden. I wave him over, and he settles down next to me, taking out a banana and fish.

"So, what's up, Cayden?" I ask, munching on my food happily. "How's the heavy category been? Is it full of adventure and danger?"

He shrugs, swinging his legs. "Not really. We haven't even started to learn how to fight yet. Our teacher, Mr. Harth--you know him, he's a cool warrior guy--keeps on telling us that before we learn to throw punches and nock arrows, we need to learn how to become focused. It's mostly just...uh..darn it, what was the word?"

"Meditating! The word you're looking for is 'meditating'!" Aria waves at us before running over, sitting on the other side of me and bringing out a sandwich and an apple.

"Yeah, that!" He smiles gratefully at Aria. "Thanks."

She hums as an answer as she chews on some of her apple.

It takes us only twenty minutes to eat, even though we're talking and laughing and shouting. I guess we're all just fast eaters; or maybe we're just eating quicker than normal out of excitement.

After we finish, we waste no time in taking off into the air. Aria's the first one off the ground, and Cayden and I follow close behind.

It's sprinkling slightly today, but it's not enough to keep us grounded. Cayden quickly flies ahead of us, leading us to the Flight Range. Though it's raining just a little, the sun is still shining, making everything look like..like pretty rupees. That's the best I can come up with.

As we get closer, it gets colder and colder, even for me. That's saying something because I almost never get cold. Ever. At least Cayden's got a huge cloak. Like, really, that thing is HUGE! And way too big for him. But too big or not, it probably keeps him all nice and cozy.

Man, I really wish I had that cloak.

The sprinkles of rain quickly turn into snow flurries. I sneeze as several snowflakes land on my beak. I hear Aria laughing as the snow gets heavier, and before I know it, I'm laughing with her. I think I hear a light chuckle from Cayden, but I'm not sure.

The snow begins swirling faster, large flakes making me shiver and stopping my laugh in its tracks.

I blink and stop, hovering in the air again. I glancing around nervously, the cold seeping into my feathers. I can see my breath, but that's the only thing I can see as the light snow turns into a snowstorm.

I can't hear anything over the blood rushing in my ears and the howling wind. This was a...very bad idea. I mean, we hadn't know that there'd be a snowstorm, but...oh, we shouldn't have come here in the first place! I should've listened to my gut...Darn it.

"Cayden?! Aria?!" I shout. My voice sounds higher than usual; that's probably because I'm scared. It's not everyday when I can't see a thing. I think I can hear someone yell back, but I can't really tell that much.

What was it that Dad had always said if I was caught in a storm...? Wasn't it-

My thought's cut off as a harsh gust of wind nearly knocks me out of the sky. I scream as I free-fall down before I get myself recovered, and I think my wings are gonna freeze from the cold. I'm terrified now; I can't see! I don't even know how high up I am!

Okay, I gotta calm down. What would Dad say?

I can feel a lump in my throat, and I can't swallow it as tears burn in my eyes. As soon as I start to cry, though, the tears make my face even colder. I just wanna go home, I shouldn't have come here! And what about Aria and Cayden? They probably are already at the Flight Range by now!

_"If you ever get lost in a storm, my son, do your best to land. Make sure you don't free-fall, because you won't be able to see where the ground is. Just descend as soon as you possibly can."_

OH!

That's what he had said! I just had to...land. I glance downwards and want to throw up as I slowly start to get lower in the sky, pushing against the wind. It tosses me around like Elina tosses around her ragdoll, and once or twice I start to drop.

Somehow, I'm able to crash into the ground, yelping as I land roughly on my left wing. I spit out snow and hold my arm, not able to control the tears that pop up from the pain. There's some flashes of white before I can see clearly.

Ahead of me is..another shrine. Just like the one in the village. Shivering, I stumble up, wishing I had a coat. My talons feel awfully cold as I step through the snow, beak chattering.

I begin trudging towards the shrine, and nearly fall over when I step on frozen dirt. It's still snow-covered, but it has less of it than the grass. It's a path, I think.

Wait...

I remember Dad telling me about the Flight Range. He talks about it a lot, even though he never lets me go with him for some reason. He told me that outside the range, there was a shrine. Maybe we got closer to the range than I thought we did?

I yawn, rubbing my eyes. I'm sleepy, probably from flying in a storm. Mom did that once, and when she came home, she slept for a really long time. We were all really scared. Except for maybe Elina. She was too little to be scared.

My arm feels uncomfortable, but I'm not too surprised. I _did_ just now crash face-first into the ground.

The wind whistles in my ears as I make my way up the path. All the snow is pretty...I wish I could just curl up in it and fall asleep. That'd be nice. Really nice. But I can't do that, or else everyone will probably think I'm dead or something.

I pass through the pathway between the two cliffs that sit ahead of the shrine and see a huge hut on stilts. There's a balcony jutting out from the hut, and below that is the famous ravine where the updrafts are so strong you can just float without flapping your wings. I've heard of it, but I've never actually seen it.

I'm glad that I didn't land farther away from the Flight Range, because I feel like I'm about to pass out and die from the cold. I glance around nervously, trying to stop myself from shivering, but it's all for nothing.

I keep on thinking I hear shouts and yells, but it's probably my imagination. Maybe that's just the wind..or, monsters. Oh no, what would I do if _monsters_ found me? I know how to use a dagger, but I've never actually _had_ to use it on something!

The voices start getting louder and clearer. They aren't monster voices, I don't think. They're people-voices. Kid voices.

I strain to hear what they're saying when the loudest shout of all scares me nearly out of my skin. Someone collides into me, her call turning into a laugh of relief.

"Lonan! You're okay! Nayru, I thought you died!"

Aria!

My face breaks out into a grin. "I'm all g-good!" I rub my arms, trying to warm up, forgetting about the fact that my arm really hurts. I hiss and wince.

Aria looks worried. "Oh, no...you're hurt, aren't you?"

I wave it off, shrugging, which also turns out to be a bad idea as another shot of pain runs up my arm. "It's only a bruise," I say, holding it. "I'm okay, like you said. But..." I look around before turn back to Aria. "Where's Cayden?"

Aria points at something behind me. I turn my head to look where she's pointing, but I don't see him. To be fair, I probably wouldn't be able to see anyone from this distance with all this snow.

"We split up," Aria says, interrupting my thoughts. "To look for you. We managed to get to the Flight Range alright, but when we couldn't find you, Cayden started looking at the other side of the range." She turns her point to the ladder. "You should get up there. There's a nice fire and everything. I'll get Cayden."

I smile and nod before hopping over to the ladder. Only when I try to grab onto the first rung do I notice that my hands are shaking. That's kinda scary to me, because what if I got..what was it called...something-thermia? I might've forgotten the name, but I know that it's really dangerous. Mom talked about it once or twice, I think.

I make my way up the ladder before scrambling over to the fire. It's nice and warm, and the crackling of the flames is really comforting for some reason.

A few minutes after I climb into the hut, Aria comes up too, quickly followed by Cayden.

"It's really coming down out there," he comments. "I don't think we'll be able to get back home until it's done.." He sighs, looking defeated.

Aria glances at him, looking worried, before her smile returns to her face. "Look on the bright side! We have a nice, cozy fire here, right? And..and I'm sure there's gotta be some food here. You know, for when people get hungry from training?"

"Maybe..." I turn to Cayden. "You know about this place more than either of us. Do you know?"

"When I came here with Gramps, I remember there being stuff to eat. It has to be somewhere in here," he answers immediately, staring at the ground in thought.

I get to my feet. "Well, this is a small place. It's probably gonna be really easy to find it, right?"

"Right," Aria says. She dives into a box on the other side of the room, shuffling its contents around. I set to work on the box outside, while Cayden looks pretty much everywhere else.

A cold blast of air slams into me. I shiver, wanting desperately to go back inside, but I have a job to do. I continue to dig in the bin, grabbing something that feels like an apple. I grin, thrusting the apple in the air triumphantly.

"I found food!" I shout, and the other two freeze in their tracks, staring at me. Cayden's holding two bananas, and I briefly wonder why anyone would put bananas of all fruit in the Flight Range, but I don't really have time to ask myself that.

"Awesome!" Aria exclaims, hopping over to me. Cayden grins for the first time I've known him and grabs onto his giant cloak, wrapping it around himself and flipping the hood over his head before coming outside.

Aria's already looking for more, shouting her finds excitedly. "More bananas! Endura Shroom! And..." She looks terribly confused as she pulls a plant out of the box. "A...Hearty Radish? Who stocks these things?"

I shrug, laughing. "Who knows," I say before I feel a weight hit my shoulders. I shiver again, but this time it's from the sudden warmth instead of the freezing cold. I glance down and see...

A cloak?

I glance over at Cayden, who's shaking his head in disbelief at Aria's discovery of the radish, and with a start realize that he doesn't have his hood on anymore. He looks at me, a grin replaced with a more shy smile.

"You looked really cold," he says simply, shrugging.

Maybe he isn't as scared of me as I thought! I feel something that's an awful lot like triumph before the irrational part of me jumps to life. What if he just gave me his cloak _because_  he's afraid of me, and not the other way around?

Come on now, Lonan. Who would give their nice, big, warm and cozy cloak to someone they're frightened of?

"Lonan!"

I snap out of it, glancing at Aria who's waving a hand in front of my face. When she sees I've come back to reality, she sighs in relief.

"You do that a lot?" she asks, sounding actually curious. "Because you were unresponsive for, like...two or three minutes there."

I shake my head. "Not really," I say. "Once in a blood moon it'll happen, but...not a lot."

Randomly, she brings out a notebook and scribbles something down before pocketing it. "Thanks!" she chirps to me as she skips back into the hut, the radish swinging at her side.

I raise my eyebrows in confusion. Cayden and I exchange a glance, equally puzzled, before following her inside, where the fire's still roaring. I settle down next to it, taking a bite into the apple I found. As usual, it's really yummy; I've always loved apples. They're not as good as bananas, but they're still nice. I take off Cayden's cloak, folding it up the best I can--which, to be honest, isn't that good at all--before tapping him on the shoulder. 

He jumps, snapping his head around to blink at me. I hold out the cloak for him to take. "Thanks for letting me borrow this," I say gratefully. "I owe you one. Maybe...hm. Well, maybe you can choose the favor. It's  _your_ favor, after all." 

He glances between the cloak and me, as if he's trying to decide something. He frowns a little, looking down at the floorboards, his eyes narrowed in thought, before his frown is replaced with something that looks a little bit like a smile. He rubs the back of his neck as he looks back at me. "I, uh," he says quietly, "I don't really need it. Keep it; it's too big for me anyways. I've always been the so-called small one, but you're taller and it seemed like it fit you alright, so.."

I think I can feel my beak part slightly as a streams of words pour out. "But-but it's yours! And it's a perfect cloak, too! Why'd you wanna give it to me? Why not just wait to grow into it?" 

Cayden shrugs and looks like he's about to say something before shutting his beak. I think I can hear Aria giggling next to me as Cayden's eyes widen a bit. 

"What?" I ask.

Aria covers her beak with one of her hands and points to the top of my head with the other, shoulders shaking with laughter. Everything suddenly becomes crystal clear to me as Cayden whispers, "Your feathers."

Oh.

The feathers that stick out from my head--a  _crest,_ I think people call it--tend to always, without fail, to point up to the sky whenever I get embarrassed or something. I guess I just forgot with all the excitement of the day. I frantically try to smooth my feathers down, but judging by Aria's reactions, it doesn't work out all that well for me.

I flip up the hood of my new cloak over my head.

Aria clutches her stomach, her breathing becoming more even again. She shakes her head, taking super deep breaths. "No, no, I wasn't laughing at you," she says. "I was just laughing at..." She pauses for a second, looking at the top of my head again, before roaring with laughter, falling over on her back. I can't help but snicker a little at her.

Cayden's grin returns briefly before disappearing into a frown. He tilts his head, suddenly raising a hand as if to tell us to be quiet. We all fall silent, with no sound except for the whistle of the wind outside.

That is, until a weird growl-like sound comes from right outside the hut.

"C-Cayden, what's that?!" Aria yell-whispers.

He doesn't answer immediately, ushering us to the other side of the hut, away from the entrance. "I don't know," he says shakily. "But it can't be good. We just need to..stay quiet."

We anxiously stare at the opening, and I don't even realize that we're all practically smushed up against each other. My heart's racing and thumping so hard I think it might jump out and run away, but I can't really move either.

Another one of those weird growls, and this time there's the sound of claws scraping against wood. It happens again. And again. And it starts getting louder, too. I wanna run, to fly away, but with the snowstorm outside I know I won't get far. At all.

So I have to wait as the scratching gets closer and closer.

With a final scratch and chirp, the silhouette of the creature jumps into the hut, cocking its head before stepping into the light.

If I couldn't move before, I definitely can't move now as the Lizalfos' red eyes stare into mine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoot whoot! This is...finally finished! This one was a bit harder to write, but the challenge was real good, so-


	4. My Hero

"We need to get out of here," Aria whispers, staring at the Lizalfos in fear. "Now."

I glance between her and the monster, which is slowly chirping and approaching us. "B-but it's blocking the door!" I say quietly, my voice shaking. "And we can't just fly away, either, because of all that snow!"

Cayden takes a deep breath, closing his eyes before they snap open. "Okay," he mutters, not looking away from the Lizalfos. "I'll keep it distracted while you to get out of here. Use the balcony and do whatever you need to do to get to the ground. I'll meet you at the shrine."

"W-what?!" I blurt out, covering my beak with my wing immediately afterward. I lower my voice to a whisper. "I mean, what? Why can't we all just run from it?" The Lizalfos tenses, like a coil ready to spring at any moment. 

"Yeah," Aria nods. "Either all of us go or none of us go." 

Cayden groans a little before beginning to shuffle towards the balcony. He gestures for us to follow him, and we do, even though we're really slow from fear. 

The Lizalfos snarls before lunging, its long claws digging into my arm as Aria screams. I yelp in pain, tears pricking my eyes, before a hand grabs onto my arm that's not hurt, pulling me along. We're running instead of sneaking now, out onto the balcony. We skid to a stop at the edge of the balcony, looking down into the ravine. 

"What do we do now?!" Aria yells over the howling wind. "There's no way we can fly in this!" 

I feel like I'm going to throw up. We're gonna die here! But I'm too young to die! I can't die yet! Right?! 

Aria looks around herself, her eyes landing on the railing of the balcony. She pokes Cayden and points. "We can climb over that," she says loudly. "And get to the ground. After that, we just need to run as far as we can!"  

Cayden nods as Aria hoists herself over the railing and drops down. 

I feel light-headed now, too. I glance at my arm and nearly shriek when I see the state it's in. It's all bloody and red and the cold isn't making things any better. I can't move it without crying out in pain. How am I supposed to follow them?

Cayden's the second one down. I'm the last one still on the balcony, slowing backing away from the monster, when I feel the edge of the platform. I can't back up any further than this. 

I hold my arm before darting over to the railing, but before I can get over it, the Lizalfos is at me, pulling me away. I scream, trying helplessly to get away from it, but it has me pinned and everytime I move it digs its claws even deeper into my arms. Everything's going all blurry and there's random spots of yellow and red and I just want to go back to the village where everything's safe!

The Lizalfos hungrily bears its teeth, like it wants to rip my throat out. I wouldn't be all that surprised if it did, but that doesn't mean I like that. I flail against the monster, but it doesn't budge. I think I just made it angrier, since now it's getting ready to kill me. 

I feel the tears running. I just want to go home and see Mom and Dad and Elina and Kass. Maybe Cayden and Aria and I would have lunch together again. I've really never been this scared in my life, even counting when I was sorted in the light category. As the Lizalfos raises one of its paws to rip me up, I hear a loud yell and the twinge of a bow string snapping back into place.

The monster slumps off of me, roaring in pain. Everything feels so weird. It's like I'm half-asleep. I wanna go all the way asleep, since Cayden's cloak is so warm and comfy, but the sound of the Lizalfos being stuck with arrows keeps me awake. 

Everything goes silent, except for someone's heavy breathing and the wind.

A familiar face pops into my view and I want to cry from relief. 

I feel myself being picked up, and even though I can barely register anything, I think I can hear Dad's voice. "Stay awake," he's saying. "You've gotta stay awake, alright? Don't go to sleep."

But I wanna go to sleep! I'm tired, the cloak is warm against the wind, and if I fall asleep, then I won't hurt all over anymore! I wonder why he doesn't want me to...he's really smart, so maybe I shouldn't. I blink blearily at him and I think I can hear more familiar voices, but I'm not that sure. Something presses against the scratches on my arm, and it really, really hurts, but I don't even have the energy to protest. 

It's like I'm underwater. I can barely see anything, I can't breath, can't hear, I just wanna go home-

But I can't. Because if that stupid storm is still out there, then there's no way we can get back to the village. But Dad knows the Flight Range inside and out, so I know it's gonna be alright. I just hope that Aria and Cayden are okay. If Dad's here, though, then they probably are. I can't really tell if they're here with me or not right now, but that's because I don't really know what's happening in general.

At this point, I'm in a state where I'm kinda asleep but still awake. Everyone's voices don't make sense at all--they all sound like they're super far away and are all under blankets or something. My eyesight's just gotten worse. I can't even make out Dad's face anymore. It looks more like a misshapen blob than a face, to be honest. I giggle a little at that. 

I'm really loopy, I think. Judging by the fact I'm bleeding everywhere, I expected to be more freaked out than I am right now, but the pain is almost...numbing. It's really strange, and I can't tell if I dislike it or not.

Well, I don't like bleeding all over Dad, so I don't really, but at least I'm not about to pass out.

Actually, I might, but Dad told me I couldn't. That kinda sucks, but I'm sure he's got his reasons, right? I shift a little and try to move my head to look around. Sure enough, two blobs that I assume are Cayden and Aria sitting anxiously on the other side of the fire. Wow. I never really noticed how pretty that fire is, have I? I reach out towards it, stretching my wingtips, trying to touch it, but as soon as my arm comes into my line of sight I wanna throw up again because it's so...so  _gross._

I'm worried that I'll never use it again, to be perfectly honest. 

Panic begins to rise up in me. What if I won't be able to fly? What if I can't play my lute anymore? Sure, I'm horrible at playing the lute, but it was still fun! And flying is a huge part of being a Rito! If I can't fly, then what am I? An ostrich? I can imagine it now; everyone would be mean to me just because I wouldn't be able to take off!

Time's being really weird right now. I can't tell whether it's slowing down or speeding up or both...I think it might be both. Because everything feels all sluggish, but the snow's clearing up and the sun is setting really quickly. At least the storm's finally, finally stopping, but..why  _now?_ It would've been great if it did this when the Lizalfos jumped in!

I feel Dad shifting, and I think I'm being picked up again. He glances down at me, then at Aria and Cayden. "Can you two fly?" he asks them. 

Both nod shakily, Cayden staring at me with wide eyes. 

"Good," Dad says. "Because you'll need to fly back to the village. I doubt Lonan can do it with the state his wings are in, and even if I thought he could, he might just injure himself further. You'll need to fly behind me, and don't lose sight of me, okay?"

Aria gulps, but she nods anyway. "We won't. Right, Cayden?" She elbows him slightly, jolting him out out of..whatever he was thinking. He blinks before nodding in agreement. 

"Y-Yeah, of course!" His voice is a little more high-pitched than usual, but maybe that's just me since everything is really weird right now. 

My brain doesn't really register anything as I hang on to Dad's neck as he gets ready to take off. Cayden and Aria are already in the air, hovering over the ravine and whispering. I wonder what they're whispering about as Dad runs off the balcony, his wings taking us into the sky.

Oh, this brings back memories. I had always said that I hated flying on Dad's back because it made me feel like a little kid, but if I'm being truly honest with myself, I kinda missed it. I learned how to fly ages ago--though I'm no good at it, as I showed in that big stupid storm--but...maybe it was just the sense of him  _being_ there that made me love it so much. 

The steady beat of his wings makes me drowsy, but his warning about not going to sleep resurfaces right as I close my eyes. I take a deep breath, trying to ignore the effect of the cold on my scratches, and glance behind me. Cayden is keeping steady pace with us, while Aria is nervously flitting around, speeding up, then slowing down. 

In the distance, I see a rock...thing that is probably the village. It's all weird-looking now, though.

It only takes a few minutes to reach Revali's Landing, Dad touching down and carefully setting me down. Aria, who had sped up again, almost crashes, stumbling. She hurries over to me, Cayden following her quickly. My mind is starting to work again, but I still feel kinda groggy.

"I-Is he gonna be okay?" Aria squeaks, Cayden worriedly glancing between me and Dad.

Dad gazes down at me, and I think I can see a flicker of fear in his eyes before it quickly goes away so fast I might've been imagining it. He swallows hard and nods. "He'll be fine," he says. "He just needs to see Aeson." 

Oh no. It must be really bad if we  _need_ to see Aeson. He only works with...really bad wounds and sicknesses. For being the village healer, he doesn't heal a whole lot, but that isn't his fault. It's mostly because we Rito can heal ourselves just fine! Well, most of the time, anyways. 

Apparently not this time.

Cayden blinks. "Aeson?" He looks a lot more nervous now, beginning to shift his weight from talon to talon. "Um, I can go on ahead and let him know you'll be coming..it's the least I can do." He nods to himself, pausing, before scurrying away and up the stairs towards Aeson's hut.

Aria looks like she's about to follow him when a familiar voice rings out from the other side of the landing. She perks her head up, cringing as her mother trots over. I wonder why she doesn't seem to like her parents all that much...I've never met anyone who dislikes their parents, really. How can you? They're there to love and care for you; at least, that's what Mom always says.

Aria's mother leans down to whisper something in her ear. Aria stiffens up a little before nodding, glancing back at us. "Sorry..." she says softly and a lot quieter than I had gotten used to from her. "But I have to go. Dinner." 

Before either one of us can protest, she's being led away by her mom.

I sigh, closing my eyes again before remembering I'm not supposed to be asleep. I feel myself being picked up again and I snuggle into Dad's chest, my eyes only half-way open. 

I try to ignore how when Dad steps up the stairs it's a new wave of pain, but it's really hard to do that. I wince every time a new stair passes, and by the time we're on Aeson's floor, I'm wanting to pass out again, but this time it's because everything hurts so much instead of me just being sleepy. I barely even notice when we walk into Aeson's hut, where Cayden's animatedly telling him something.

As I'm set down on a cot, I try to stay latched onto Dad, but my wings are too weak. It feels hard to breath again, I realize glumly. 

Aeson starts looking me over. I don't know how long it takes, but it feels like hours until he finally draws back, folding his arms and staring down at me. He glances at Dad, who's sitting in a chair, before sighing and speaking. 

"He'll be alright," he says, turning to Dad once again. "He won't be able to fly for awhile, but once he regains that capability, he'll be stronger than he was before. Do not worry for him. However, he should stay here for a few nights." He strides over to his desk, writing something down and shuffling with his potion bottles. 

My stomach drops.

I won't be able to fly..? It's that bad?!

As I finally am allowed to go to sleep like I've been wanting to for the past hour, one question rises to the front of my brain.

'How long is 'awhile'? 


End file.
